CHAPTER 5:
"His face flushed deep red and it felt hot underneath the back of her hand"
They arrived in Suna well after nightfall, after having rested in the forest as long as needed. Much to Neji's embarrassment Gai-sensei had insisted on carrying him to the village due to his tentative walking slowing their pace down so much and despite his complaining Neji at one point fell into a deep sleep, undisturbed by the bumpy movement of Gai walking. When they arrived at the guest house they were booked to stay in they were shown to their room and the staff had already prepared their futons. The sight of plush fabrics and soft pillow was the only thing in the room Tsukiko took notice of and she threw herself down onto it with a heavy sigh and a soft smile. It was like heaven and she slipped her bag off her back and pushed it away to be able to draw the blankets up over her.
Exhausted and finally able to sleep for the first time in two days Tsukiko slept well into the early afternoon of the next day. A note lay on the table from Lee saying that he and Gai-sensei had gone to see the Kazekage and would be back with food, but this was then crossed out and replaced with a second note saying they had gone to train and the food could be collected from the kitchen. Tsukiko folded up her futon and went and took a bath before collecting her breakfast and returning to the room. When she arrived, Neji had also risen and she greeted him as she sat down at the low table. His hair was let loose and there was now bandaging over his eyes, she also noticed he was not wearing his forehead protector and for the first time Tsukiko was able to see the seal on his forehead. She had seen it before on other branch family members foreheads, but this was the first time seeing his and she found herself staring.
'Good thing he can't see me'
"Would you like breakfast?" Tsukiko asked, "Though, I guess it really is lunch by now,"
"Yeah, please," He confirmed and made his way to the table bumping his shin on the corner of it when he came too close and felt his way along the edge of the table to sit opposite her, "Gai-sensei and Lee?"
"Out training according to Lee's note," Tsukio laughed softly, their only day off in Sunagakure and they are using it to train, "It also said they went to meet with the Kazekage earlier this morning, I don't know what happened though,"
Tsukiko divided the food onto plates and slid one over towards Neji along with chopsticks and he slowly felt about for them on the table. She watched as he awkwardly struggled unable to see what he was trying to do and after almost finishing her own food she eventually took pity on him and moved around the table to be on the same side as him,
"Let me help-"
"No," Neji cut her off sharply, unwilling to give up, "I can do it,"
"Don't be so stubborn! Just let me help you," Tsukiko shot back, she knew he would protest and that was why she hadn't offered sooner, but now she wanted to help anyway,
He didn't respond and continued messily without her help,
"You're going to-" She tried to warn him that everything was about to fall of the chopsticks but was too late and only centimetres from his mouth everything spilt and bounced on the table. Neji froze after it happened, chopsticks poised suspended from him. He sighed, admitting his defeat, and placed them heavily down on the table and turned away to pout,
With a napkin Tsuki swept up the mess and threw it in the bin before returning to ignore his protests and help him. She picked up some food with the chopsticks and, with the back of her free hand, forcibly turned his head back to her and held the chopsticks in front of him but his mouth stayed shut,
"Really? Do I need to instruct you?" Tsukiko scolded, and with false sounding happiness she chimed in a sing-song voice, "Open wide~~"
Neji pulled a face but reluctantly did as she asked, his hunger obviously stronger than his pride at that moment. He frowned in annoyance and embarrassment and his face flushed deep red and it felt hot underneath the back of her hand. Tsukiko prepared more food while Neji ate and helpfully when he was done he parted his mouth to allow her to continue.
Midway through his third mouthful Neji pulled a face and turned away to stop her,
"Is there pumpkin in this?" He questioned after swallowing, frowning in disgust,
"Yeah?" Tsukiko answered, "Ahh, I remember you said you didn't like pumpkin during our first meeting. You really hate it that much?"
"You... remember that?" Neji sounded surprised as he trailed off, "I can't stand it, it is disgusting"
"Okay, I'll remove what I can find," She told him as she already started picking pieces out and placing them on the side of her unused plate, there wasn't much pumpkin and it only took a second for her to remove it all,
"That should be all of it, when you are ready..." Tsukiko informed him holding the chopsticks up for him, she couldn't help but laugh quietly at his compliance in allowing her to help him and he blushed again which only made her laugh more,
'So Neji has this sort of side too. It's really cute'. The thought caught Tsukiko off guard and she froze. 'Wait, what?'
Almost an hour after they ate Tsukiko decided she wanted to look around the village, it was her only free day off and it was still early in the afternoon so there was still a lot of the day left to explore. Despite his complaining at being unable to 'look around' Tsukiko forced Neji into coming with her as the light exercise would be good for him. Walking through crowds in the busy areas of the village she linked her arm with his to be able to guide with through without hassle and she described her surroundings to him. At first she thought it would annoy him, like she was patronising him, but he didn't complain or ask her to stop and even asked her for more details on a few things.
"So pretty much, what you are missing out on is the fact that everything is brown and made of sand," She joked and he surprised her by huffing laughing in reply, it wasn't much, but for Neji any form of laughter was a rare sound, "The buildings are all shaped into weird domes. The architecture is way better in Konoha,"
"You sound disappointed?" Neji questioned and the observation caught her by surprise,
"No, it's not that," Tsukiko assured, the novelty of being in a place outside of Konoha hadn't worn off even after such a journey to get there, "I guess if I could choose where I wanted to go for a mission break I just wouldn't choose the desert,"
"Where would you choose then?"
She thought about it for a moment, "Takigakure, I think. I read about it and it seems really beautiful. Stay at a relaxing ryokan with an onsen. Sounds like paradise."
"Maybe one day we will have a chance to go there,"
"I would like that,"
The two continued walking through Suna for a long while until the sun began to set, arms linked and mostly in companionable silence. Tsukiko stopped a few times to buy a few things from small market stalls, including ohagi for later that evening. She found small trinkets the buy and take back to the village for Hinata and Hinabi. After she told Neji this he became somewhat quiet and less responsive and Tsukiko wondered if it was because she reminded him of her connection to the main family. In the months since Team Gai had been working together they all worked well as a team and the initial animosity Neji had towards her faded away - except for times when her family ties were brought up. She knew they had unresolved issues but they had nothing to do with her, she decided a long time ago that it wasn't her place to get involved but hopped secretly and desperately that one day things would change.
"Do you want to go back to the room, it's getting a little dark?" Tsukiko asked as they began walking in circles, "Gai-sensei and Lee might have returned by now and I am a little curious about what the Kazekage summoned us for,"
Neji agreed and Tsukiko guided them back, almost getting lost for a moment before realising she was fine and was going in the right direction. Back at the room Lee and Gai were back from their training and appeared to have bathed and were now relaxing in yukata. As the passed through the door Neji let go of her arm quickly,
"Ah, there you are," Gai-sensei sung as he seen them, "I was looking to talk with you all,"
"Hm?" Tsukiko questioned, sliding the door closed behind her as she slowly followed Neji inside.
When they were all situated sitting near the table Gai-sensei looked around at them seriously,
"In a few month from now the bi-annual Chunin Exams will be held in Kusagakure," Gai-sesnei explained, "As your genin commander I can nominate you all as a team to participate in the exams. I have watched all three of you grow in these past few months, faster than I would have expected. And this past mission only confirmed it for me, I think all of you are ready to sit the exam."
"To be promoted to chunin?" Lee questioned, tilting his head,
"If you pass, yes," Gai confirmed, "Your decision has to be a unanimous one as a team if you want to do it. I don't need answers tonight, so there is no rush for a decision. I want you all to think hard about it and about if you feel you personally are ready for such a big step forward."
Tsukiko sat outside the open widow on the roof of where they were staying, the air had grown cold now that the sun had completely set but she paid no mind to it.
'Promotion to chunin, huh?'.
Tsukiko didn't know what to make of the idea. If she had been asked before yesterday she may have answered yes without hesitation, but after what happened with Hori she had doubts about her own abilities. Since entering the Academy Tsukiko had always been told she was a genius and was extremely talent, who will grow to achieve great things, but yet she felt like nothing more than a weak child. She had almost died fighting Hori and she had almost let Neji die as well, was someone like that good enough to become chunin? She thought about Lee and Neji and the answer they would give, would they be mad with her if she said she didn't want to do it?
She sighed heavily knowing that no matter how long she thought about it her feelings wouldn't change, 'I want to protect them. But I am not strong enough to do that yet.'
The wind was picking up and Tsukiko grew cold. The sand was being carried in the wind and was whipping against her face and she decided to go back inside. As she stood up she froze, an instinctual fear coming over her,
'I've felt this before... This... Killing intent...'
The sand whipped around her but the wind didn't change direction, it was moving on its own. She couldn't move due to the paralysis of the killing intent and she wrapped a hand around her own wrist and squeezed it tight, digging her nails in, so the pain would ground her back to reality.
'This is stronger than then...'
Tsukiko remained where she stood after breaking the fear as a figure appeared from the shadows of the roof across from her, sand danced around his feet pouring from a gourd on his back. In a second Gai-sensei and Lee were though the window by her, the killing intent strong enough to draw their attention from inside,
"I seen him after the fight with Hori, he was part of the three man Suna-nin team sent to capture or kill him after the first team failed," Tsukiko told them in a quiet voice,
"Why is he here now then?" Lee questioned, "When we were summoned to the Kazekage this morning everything was fine between us and Suna,"
"I don't think he is here on orders. It would risk breaking the alliance between our villages if they were to attack us," Gai narrowed his eyes in the direction of the stranger, he raised his voice to the stranger, "But you know this already, don't you?"
The sand encircling Tsukiko began to slow and withdraw, whoever he was he knew he was out numbered, and he backed away a few steps before jumping down from the roof to the street below. Tsukiko followed him across the roof but when she looked down at the street there was no sign of him or the sand he controlled.
'Why did he come here?'
Back inside Neji questioned what happened, feeling uneasy and vulnerable being unable to see. And Tsukiko questioned to herself the same thing as she sat down at the table. Konoha and Suna were allies so why would one of their ninja want to kill them so badly? Was he angry about what happened with Hori? Were they friends? Did he want revenge?
Whatever he wanted Tsukiko hoped not to cross paths with him again before leaving Suna the next day.
"Sensei?" Tsukiko called his attention as she sat down at the table, "I know you said there was no rush to make a decision about the Chunin Exams, but even if I think about it for weeks I don't think it's going to change anything,"
She caught the attention of all the members of her team when she said this and they all turned to look at her waiting for her to press on,
"I don't want to do it," She took a breath, but spoke without hesitation, "Before this mission my answer would have been different but now I know I am not ready,"
"Why?" Gai-sensei asked, not simply out of curiosity but a need to understand the thought she put into her answer,
"You seen why," Tsukiko told him slowly, "Hori... That is what I am capable of when I panic. All the other students at the Academy were scared of me and my kekkei genkai and for the first time it scared me too. I don't want to use this ability for destruction like that again."
"Being a ninja means-"
"I know, I want to protect the people I care about and if that means killing then... Yes, I am ready for that," She cut him off unapologetically, "But I don't want to have to rely on taking a life to achieve that. I had no other option and I don't regret what happened to Hori, but I want to become stronger so that if the situation arises again I have other options. I wont ask you to wait too long, only a year, and by then I will be strong enough for that,"
"I want to wait too," Neji agreed in a low voice, quiet, "I wasn't able to do anything in that fight and at this current level of strength I didn't stand a chance against Hori. I want to keep training for another year so that when we do sit the exam we are the strongest team there,"
Gai-sensei nodded hearing their words and he turned to his last student, "Lee?"
"I agree" Lee affirmed, "I am not a genius like Neji or Tsukiko with powerful abilities and skills. I have learnt so much from Sensei but there is still so much more I need to learn. But with a little time and hard work I will surpass natural talent! So when we sit the exam I will be able to stand on equal footing with any ninja I face, even if it is either of them,"
"When we finally do sit the exam," Tsukiko smiled a small sly smile, "I will not let you win that easily,"
"Neither will I," Neji smirked,
"The passion of youth!" Gai exclaimed, tears streaming down his face, "We will train hard as a team and grow stronger!"
"Yes, Sensei!" Lee exclaimed back jumping to his feet and vowing to begin more intense training immediately and he began doing push ups and Gai joined him to encourage him.
Tsukiko raised an eyebrow at them. She had been a little worried that her team mates would have wanted to enter the Chunin Exams straight away but was pleased they all felt the same about it. Though she didn't quiet have the same motivation Lee and Gai-sensei had to get stronger right at that moment. For her it was still like a holiday and she had no intention of training, only of relaxing and treating herself to the ohagi she bought earlier from the market. She brought enough to share with her team and both Gai-sensei and Lee thanked her and said they would eat some after they finished 100 more push ups. Neji declined at first but Tsukiko quickly realised it was because it would mean struggling using chopsticks again,
"They are really good," She told him cheerfully after trying one herself, "Just try it"
She picked up one and held it out for him bobbing it up an down. Reluctantly he gave into her pestering and leaned forward,
"It... Is okay" He admitted after swallowing, face slightly pink and Tsukiko laughed,
"Hmmmmm...?" A combined questioning sound came from Gai-sensei and Lee when Tsukiko turned to look at them they had both halted their push ups and looked between Neji, her and the chopsticks in her hand, thick eyebrows raised in questioning,
Tsukiko blinked back at them in confusion before looking down at the chopsticks,
"Oh!" She blurted holding them out away from her, her own face heating up, "Oh no, these were mine!"
"Wh- what?" Neji questioned, the pink in his face darkening, "Why... why didn't you use another pair?"
"No... I don't mean to... I just..." Tsukiko trailed off embarrassed,
Gai-sensei and Lee laughed at Neji and Tsukiko's equally awkward embarrassment, as Neji turned away to hide his face and Tsukiko got new chopsticks and squished a whole ohagi in her mouth so she didn't need to talk anymore.
'An... Indirect kiss...'
NEXT TIME-
CHAPTER 6: "Like a beast hunting its prey"
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Just a quick definition of terms for anyone that was confused and too lazy to look them up on wikipedia:
* Ryokan- Is a traditional Japanese style inn where guests are able to spend their whole stay wearing yukata and are known to be really relaxing
* Onsen- A natural hot spring they are really common at Ryoukan
* Ohagi- An autumn season desert made from glutinous rice and sweet red bean paste
* Also if you are confused about the significance of the end and have never watched or read a shoujo where a scene like that occurred just look up 'indirect kiss' and you will understand ;D
So this marks the end of the Introductory Arc. Next chapter will begin a new story arc - how exciting right, we are making progress! I really wanted to end this arch on a cute fluffy note and give you all a breather from the last chapter which was a little intense. I do quite like to write intense chapters like that last one, and I like to get descriptive with horror scenes too so be prepared for that again in the future - I will always begin the chapter with a warning note like last time too just as a heads up. 'Cause I know it came very out of left wing last time as this fic has so far been mostly been really chill and not too dark.
What do ya'll think about that? Do you mind it getting a little dark like that? Or would you rather I try and keep it as light and chill as possible? It means a lot to me that you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it, so leave me comments or PM me and tell me how you feel about it. And about the pacing of the story too; is it too fast or too slow? About character development; are characters behaving in ways that fit with cannon or am I mischaracterising them? What about my OC; do you like her? Is she believable or too Mary Sue?
Basically... do you guys like it? I am really curious about that! Please let me know!
Anyway, like always thank you so much for reading, my children! It really means a lot every time it gets a new vote on wattpad or someone favorites/follows it on . This story seems to be a lot more popular on than on wattpad and i dont really know what that means, maybe it is just easier to find, who knows. But I am really grateful to you readers on both sites who take the time to read my story and especially to the ones that continue reading pass the first chapter and are reading this note right now. YES YOU! YOU ARE THE BEST. I LOVE YOU! Thank you sooo much :D
